Showing posts with label SP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SP. Show all posts

Monday 13 July 2020

LUCKNOW CALLING


Priyanka Gandhi
Early in the month of July, the Housing Ministry of the Central Government served an order to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, cancelling the allotment of the Lodhi Estate house in Delhi, which she has been occupying for last 23 years. As expected, the BJP justified the decision, pointing out that the Gandhis, considered to be the first family of Indian politics, no longer enjoy the Special Protection Guard (SPG) protection after the Act was amended in Dec 2019 to cover only the family members of the incumbent and former PMs. The Congress went out all guns blazing; accusing the Modi government of vendetta politics and calling the move a sustained effort on the part of the Modi-Shah duo to target its top brass personally.

On her part, it seems as though Priyanka was anyway planning to shift out of Delhi with reports suggesting that she was due to move to Lucknow so that she could take her job as the party general secretary in charge of UP more seriously. The outbreak of the Corona pandemic seems to have postponed her plan, till the BJP decided to show the more hardcore elements of its core electorate that it would not go soft on the Gandhis. On the part of the INC, they have decided to milk the situation, accusing the government of witch hunt against the younger Gandhi who has been quite vocal in her criticism of the Yogi regime in Uttar Pradesh, and in the process, earn some sympathy for its High Command which has seen its stocks plummet to low time low.

Ever since the drubbing it got in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the grand old party, has largely been on the back foot at the center, the imbroglio surrounding Rahul Gandhi’s re-appointment as the President, only making the matters worse. Under these circumstances when the party has not been able to corner the government in spite of its mishandling of the Covid situation in the country and recent clashes at the China border, Priyanka’s decision to shift base to Lucknow and help build the party in India’s most important state is certainly a step in the right direction, for the following reasons:

(1) The Gandhis are serious about UP, finally: Though Uttar Pradesh has been the home turf of the Gandhis, they seem to have some how lost touch with the state, post the Indira Gandhi era. The party has become irrelevant outside the pocket boroughs of Rae Bareli and Amethi, ceding ground, first to the BJP during the Babri Masjid demolition movement and then to the two main regional players – the Mulayum Singh & Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Mayawati lead Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP); in fact, in the last national polls, BJP leader Smriti Irani even managed to wrest Amethi from the then Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

With Priyanka being one of the main weapon’s in the Congress’ arsenal for the time being, her impending move to Lucknow is a clear indication that the party means business in UP and will put its entire might to put up a good show in the 2022 state polls.

(2) A complete overhaul of the UP Congress: With the party being out of power in Lucknow since 1989, in many parts of the big state, the Congress cadre is non-existent and most of its one-time big wigs have moved on to rival camps. As seen in the 2017 state elections where it happily agreed to play a junior partner to the SP, it seemed until now that the Congress had given up all hopes, resigning to the fact that it was not a serious contender for UP anymore.

With a Gandhi scion taking hold of the reins of the party in UP, it is expected that Priyanka would usher in a series of much delayed and much needed reforms to stop the rot in the UPCC (Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee) and help rebuild the party organization, from the scratch, quite literally. Moreover, for quite some time now, she had been taking on the Yogi government on its alleged failures to provide good governance to the people. Shifting base to UP, not only gives more vigor to her barbs against the state government but is also expected to enthuse the ordinary Congress karya karta right in time for the state polls, scheduled to be held in 20 months.

In fact, she can take some inspiration from bitter rival Amit Shah who as the head of BJP state unit helped the party and its allies won a staggering 73 out of the 80 seats in the 2014 polls that saw Modi sweep to power while the Congress was reduced to its worst ever performance of 44 seats at the national level. Prior to his arrival in UP, BJP's position in the state was just a little better than what the Congress finds itself in as of now; Shah rebuilt the party, taking lots of tough decisions that ultimately paid off. Congress sympathizers are definitely hoping for such a show from Priyanka.

(3) The Division of Power: Ever since Rahul entered electoral politics, there have been accusations of there being multiple power centers within the Congress that severely curtails its ability to take quick decisions vis-a-vis the BJP where Modi’s diktat reigns supreme. It is known that the Congress is split into two camps, the old timers swearing loyalty to Sonia and the young Turks pledging allegiance to Rahul. Of late, with Priyanka taking a more active interest in politics, many feared that a new third camp may emerge, especially with Rahul finding hard to win elections for the party. Priyanka’s move to Lucknow and Rahul taking back reins from Sonia will certainly be a step that could clear a lot of the mess regarding decision making in the Congress. Rahul would be free to take decisions at the Centre and concentrate on cornering the Modi government while Priyanka, as his trusted lieutenant can help revive the party fortunes in UP.

Priyanka’s choice of residence in UP’s capital city is laced with all sorts of symbolism; she has decided to move into the vacant house owned by Late Sheila Kaul, the sister-in-law of Jawahar Nehru. What makes the house more special is that it was here that Gandhiji and Nehru had planted a tree together way back in the 1930s. Don’t be surprised if you see Priyanka’s social media feed flooded with images of this tree in the run up to the 2022 state polls in a bid to invoke the Nehru-Gandhi legacy of the Congress.

Overall, Priyanka’s move to Lucknow certainly seems to be a step in the right direction. If she can put her political acumen and charisma to good use, she can put the party on a firm footing in UP, while keeping the Yogi government on tenterhooks. If she can get back the traditional Congress vote banks of Brahmins, Muslims and Dalits that they have lost to BJP, SP and the BSP respectively, then the party can hopefully see a revival of fortunes in the big state. In fact, the Congress should take the gamble, announce Priyanka Gandhi as its CM nominee, thereby raising the stakes. The move may or may not pay off, but then, as they say, ‘Fortune favors the Brave’. It could just be the move that could spark off a Congress revival on India's political landscape.

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Saturday 31 March 2018

WHAT'S UP BEHENJI?

BSP chief Mayawati

Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati was perhaps the most high profile casualty, amongst the many regional leaders who fell victim to the phenomenal Modi wave that has dominated the political scene in the country since late 2013. Arguably, the most popular Dalit leader in the country, her party drew a blank in the 2014 General Elections that saw a resurgent BJP claiming 73 seats in India's most populous state. As Narendra Modi took oath to become India's 14th Prime Minister, Behenji, who has openly expressed her desire to lead the country on multiple occasions, was left licking her wounds.

Demonetization is believed to have hit Mayawati particularly hard; with finances drying up and several key leaders jumping ship, BSP was in tatters before the crucial state assembly polls. As if the humiliation in 2014 elections was not enough, the BSP finished a distant third in the 2017 state polls; its tally of 19 was its lowest since Mayawati took over the reins of the party from her mentor - Kanshi Ram. In what seemed more like a desperate, last ditched effort to garner some sympathy, she resigned from Rajya Sabha in July last year, accusing the ruling dispensation of not allowing her to highlight the atrocities faced by her fellow Dalits across the country under the Modi rule. Though her theatrics did win her some support from the Congress and several prominent regional leaders, her once vice-like grip over her low caste vote bank seemed to slipping away from her.

With her back against the wall, Mayawati finally gulped down her ego and decided to join forces with her nemesis Akhilesh Yadav of the SP to form a united front against the BJP in the by-polls to the prestigious Gorakhpur and Phulpur parliamentary seats held earlier this month. In what was billed as the first test for anti-BJP forces before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the SP candidates, backed by a host of parties, most notably the BSP, handed the saffron outfit a stunning defeat in the seats that were won by the incumbent CM and deputy CM, four years ago. As Akhilesh drove to Mayawati's residence to personally thank her for her backing, many felt that this was the beginning of a broad alliance of regional parties across the country whose existence was threatened by Modi and his ability to break traditional vote banks by talking about development on one hand and arousing Hindutva sentiments on other. The defeat of the BSP candidate for the tenth Rajya Sabha seat from the state in spite of the Congress and some Samajwadi MLAs voting in its favor was seen as a minor setback while fighting for a 'larger cause'; opposition leaders suggested that the defeat would further strengthened their resolve to work together. Behenji and Akhilesh made it clear that the understanding between them was on, 'in the larger interest of the country'.

Mayawati however, has a mind of her own; a champ of the coalition era, who made national parties dance to her tunes, the BSP supremo did a volte face three days later, refusing to activate her cadre in support of the SP candidate for the Kairana assembly segment. What prompted Behenji to break or rather suspend her short lived honeymoon with the SP is difficult to ascertain. Here are some possible reasons why the BSP chief may want to weigh in the many options before her and take time prior to committing fully to an alliance with the SP or any other party:

(1) Playing second fiddle to Yadav: Akhilesh's emergence as the face of the united opposition to Modi led BJP in Uttar Pradesh may not go down well with Mayawati. After all, she is a four time CM of Uttar Pradesh, has served as the deputy CM once and has been active in politics for over three decades. With such an impressive resume, she may not been very keen to work under the much younger Akhilesh, who is seen by many to be quite inexperienced. In fact, after the defeat of her candidate in the recently held Rajya Sabha polls, Behenji, speaking at a press conference pointed out that it was political immaturity on the part of the SP President to rely on independent candidate Raja Bhaiya's vote to secure victory for her candidate. Not participating in the by-polls may be her way of making it clear that she too is an aspirant to lead the regional block, at least in UP in 2019. Moreover, she has sent a clear signal that she cannot be taken for granted and her participation in the anti-Modi block will be on her terms.

(2) BSP's issues with pre-poll tie ups: Mayawati and her outfit have always been averse to tie ups with prospective alliance partners before elections. The fundamental belief behind this, at least the one that the party leaders put up is that while BSP is able to transfer its votes to its ally, the reverse does not happen; thus, while the ally benefits or that is what the BSP believes, it ends up gaining nothing besides the the fact that it has to vacate some seats for its partner. The loss in the Rajya Sabha elections may only reinforce this belief wherein a united Opposition including the SP, Congress and the RLD failed to secure a victory for Mayawati's chosen candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar. Though Behenji was all praises for the commitment displayed by the SP and the Congress in the polls to the Upper House of the Parliament, it is likely that the defeat of Ambedkar will play on her mind as and when she decides to stitch any alliance with them in the near future.

(3) Buying Time: Mamta Bannerjee and KCR have rolled the dice and have heralded the process of the formation of a broader alliance of state parties in their attempt to stop the Modi juggernaut in next year's Union polls. Meanwhile, several regional satraps, chief amongst them being Naveen Patnaik, KCR, Chandrababu Naidu and the Yechury led Kerala block of the CPM would prefer maintaining a distance from the Congress considering that the grand old party is their principal rival in their respective states. As such, there is a very high probability that in 2019, one or more blocks viz the UPA, the Third Front etc. may be formed to take on the BJP. Mayawati may want to weigh in the options before her prior to committing herself to any of the these. Meanwhile, Union Minister Athavale whose party the RPI(A) is a part of the NDA has invited the Dalit leader to join the BJP for the welfare of the down trodden. Certainly, the wily Mayawati would rather focus on strengthening her cadre and wooing back her traditional vote base for the time being so that she is in a more commanding position at the onset of 2019.

The BSP supremo is keeping her cards close to her chest; in the run up to 2019, which could be a do or die situation, both for her and her party, Mayawati may well rise from the ashes, like the proverbial phoenix and play a key role in the formation of the next government at Center, irrespective of who is leading it.
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Saturday 17 October 2015

THE SPOILSPORTS

The Bihar elections has been touted as a two horse race between the incumbent CM Nitish Kumar led 'Grand Alliance' on one side and the Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance on the other. With most Opinion Polls predicting a neck to neck contest between the two sides, parties are trying hard to retain their 'traditional' vote banks while hoping to break into those of their rivals. From the development card to caste based politics to evoking religious sentiments, outfits are using every issue under the sun to strike a chord with the electorate and win what is turning out to be the most important polls since the last General Elections. However, with the two coalitions grabbing all the headlines, it is easy to overlook the other smaller parties or formations in the fray; while they may not win many seats, they sure can emerge as 'spoilsports' in their strongholds and at the end tilt the results in the favour of one side. Here is a look at the 'not-so-famous' parties or alliances that could play a crucial role in Bihar 2015.

The Third Front: A golden rule of Indian politics is that 'You should never mess with Mulayum Singh Yadav'; the wrestler turned former CM of Uttar Pradesh is not known to forgive his detractors so easily. The leaders of the Grand Alliance were made aware of this when the SP supremo not only walked out of the Nitish led front but joined hands with the Pappu Yadav's JAM to float a rival coalition that threatens to wean away some votes that would have otherwise gone to the ruling combination.

The 'Socialist Secular Morcha' as it is being termed is targeting the powerful Muslim - Yadav vote bank which till about a decade ago was the primary support base of Lalu Yadav. There is no doubt that Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayum is the tallest Yadav leader in the country and he is expected to wield some influence in western parts of Bihar, mainly in the district bordering UP. Besides, the presence of Pappu Yadav's Jan Adikhar Morcha (JAM) will boost the alliance's chances, particularly in his stronghold of Madhepura. The JAM founder certainly has a point to prove; after being expelled out of the RJD, he would want to make Lalu pay for it. In fact, it is believed that several RJD and JD-U leaders who have been denied tickets by their parties are in talks with the controversial politician ahead of the polls. Former Union Minister Nagamani's Samras Samaj Party (SSP), former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma's Nationalist People's Party (NPP) and former Jhanjharpur MP Devendra Prasad Yadav's Samajwadi Janata Dal - Democratic (SJD-D) too are a part of this combination.

Of course, it has not been all smooth sailing for this alliance. One of its major constituent - the NCP walked out of the Front citing differences with the SP. Ironcially, NCP leader Tariq Anwar was being projected as the Morcha's CM candidate.

Nationalist Congress Party: The Sharad Pawar led outfit has certainly made a fool of itself in the Bihar assembly elections. In the beginning it was a part of the Nitih led 'Maha ghatbandhan' but walked out of it after it was given just three seats instead of the 12 that it has asked for. Next, it entered into a pre-poll tie up with the SP and was allocated over 40 seats to contest as a constituent of the Third Front. However, days before the second round of voting, the party snapped all ties with the coalition, accusing Mulayum Singh of being hand in glove with the BJP.

Kathiar MP and party's Muslim face Tariq Anwar speaking to the media said that his outfit will contest 45 seats alone. The NCP will be a strong contender in the six assembly segments of Kathiar district of Bihar and will again eat into the votes of the Nitish - Lalu alliance. The extent of the damage it causes to the 'secular' parties needs to be seen.

The Left Front: Six Communist parties too are fighting the Bihar polls with the aim of providing a 'viable' alternative to the people as per Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary Prakash Karat. The other constituents of the alliance include the CPI-ML, the CPM, the RSP, the Forward Block and the Socialist Union of Communist India - Communist (SUCI-C). The coalition is believed to have substantial base Bhojpur and Beguserai regions of the state but it will be crucial to see if it translates into seats.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen: It turns out that all the hullabaloo surrounding Owaisi's debut in Bihar turned out to be a dud. Though he had earlier announced plans of contesting on seats from four districts in the Seemanchal region of the state, in a statement made this past week, the AIMIM chief has said that his outfit will only contest from six assembly seats. This move should come as a big relief for the mega coalition since it was believed that Owaisi could end up splitting the Muslim vote which till sometime back was said to be firmly behind Nitish and Lalu.

Shiv Sena: A partner in the government headed by the BJP in Maharashra, the Uddhav Thackeray led outfit's entry into the fray is likely to affect the chances of some NDA candidates in Bihar. The saffron outfit which is regularly in the news for harassing Bihari migrants in Mumbai is hoping to capitalize on disgruntled BJP leaders to help it open its account in the northern state. Though even opening its account will be a big achievement for the Sena, it could play the spoiler for the NDA on some closely fought seats.

Bahujan Samajwadi Party: Though the Mayawati led party once had representatives in the Bihar state assembly, today the BSP's prospects look bleak. The party on its part is contesting all 243 seats but it will take more than a miracle to even win a single seat. As per the plan, the BSP is targeting the Dalit and women voters to do well in the polls

Jharkhand Mukhti Morcha: The Shibu Soren led JMM has some support base in parts of southern Bihar with significant tribal populations. The former Jharkhand CM will be banking on these votes to spring a surprise and win a few segments.

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